Kingspan develops ‘revolutionary’ insulated BIPV module

The Kingspan Power Panel is composed of a Yingli 240w module with insulation attached to the back. Image credit: Kingspan.

The underside of the Kingspan Power Panel. Image credit: Kingspan.

Kingspan Group, a UK-based provider of sustainable products for the construction industry, has developed an innovative insulated BIPV module for industrial and commercial rooftops which is expected to “revolutionise” the BIPV market.

The new Kingspan Power Panel — which was on display at Ecobuild, a trade show held in London, UK, last week — is composed of a 240w module supplied by Yingli Green Energy with insulation attached to the back. The wires are encased within the insulation and lead to a junction box located at the top of the module.

Speaking to Solar Power Portal’s sister site Design-Build Solar at Ecobuild, Ross McGuinness, Area Sales Manager at Kingspan, explained: “This product is essentially a hybrid version of an existing product that we have. Kingspan has an insulated panel called RW which is a roof and wall solution. We’ve taken out two of the crowns which run down the panel and integrated a PV module. So in terms of how you install the PV module mechanically onto the roof it’s the exact same as a roof which roofing contractors have been installing for the past 25 years.”

The product caused some excitement at Ecobuild and has been earmarked as a development which is set to “revolutionise the BIPV industry”, Ray Noble, Solar Trade Association's Solar Photovoltaic Specialist Consultant, told Design-Build Solar.

According to McGuinness, the new module will be quick to install, helping to reduce time on-site and, in turn, labour costs. Compared with a bolt-on rooftop PV solution, this BIPV solution will not require a separate PV installer. Kingspan will manage and oversee each project and expects to provide the electrical installation service in conjunction with existing roofing contractors.

The Kingspan Power Panel will be manufactured in the UK and is currently awaiting TUV accreditation. McGuinness revealed that preliminary discussions with the TUV have so far been “very favourable”.

Following two years of development, the new Kingspan Power Panel is set to launch in the UK market by June 2013.

Commenting on why the UK has been chosen as the product’s first market, McGuinness said: “A large part of Kingspan’s business comes from the UK and we certainly see most scope for this project in the UK. The R&D of the product has been done in the UK and Ireland. The product is certainly going to be manufactured in the UK. We’re looking at using our manufacturing base in North Yorkshire. So the UK just seems the most logical step for the first installs.”

McGuiness added: “We see PV and BIPV in the UK as a growing area of the construction business. Certainly, I think it’s a lot more positive than other countries in Europe. We’ve looked at doing PV installs in Belgium, Netherlands and those markets have been killed by government legislation and government cuts to feed-in tariff subsidies and thankfully that hasn’t happened in the UK.”

Good questions JQ and I look forward to seeing your feedback Ross as you get closer to product launch. Another issue that I'm sure you've been investigating is how this product will work with leased roof schemes. With the favourable ROC rate for PV on buildings, large commercial rooftops / sheds could offer good returns. How will demarcation be achieved with a fully bonded panel? How would ownership of the PV installation be separated from roof ownership? Also, are you looking to get MCS017 approval for the product?

Posted by solarbod on 2013-03-19 10:32:54

JQ,

Thank you for your interest and all of the issues you have highlighted in you post have been addressed. As we state in the article we will not be launching the product until later this year, at that point all the requested information will be made available to the market.

Posted by Ross McGuinness on 2013-03-18 10:53:48

Dear Ross, couple of queries that I would be thankful if you could clarify: - What about maintenance? are modules suitable for walking over them if required? Maximum wind & snow load?

- I understand that permanent access to purlins and roof from underneath must be kept in order to be able to do some maintenance tasks or replace anything.

- What if modules do not perform as expected? Again we would need to remove the roof? Who will be liable, yourselves or Yingli?

- Does Kinspan has the intention of manufacturing those specifically for each project or is it going to be an standard product? String configuration could be a problem if you only have something "standard".

Thank you.

Posted by JQ on 2013-03-16 10:23:24

It's not actually rock wool Jason, it's PIR insulation which Kingspan specialises in and use in our range of composite insulated panels.

To answer your question though, extensive R&D testing at various locations globally (UK & Ire, Europe, Australia etc) has shown heat build up to be minimal and it's effect on the output performance, as a result, is quite small. As you can imagine this is one of the main obstacles we've had to over come in the development of the product.

Posted by Ross McGuinness on 2013-03-15 18:35:53

Genius rock wool on the back of a module. Will this effect the performance though as the silicon will heat up?

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